


Trial in Love | Kozume Kenma

by PumpkinPieParadise



Series: Haikyuu Fanfic [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:29:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25443955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PumpkinPieParadise/pseuds/PumpkinPieParadise
Summary: A gamer , an admirer , and a love letter
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Haikyuu Fanfic [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1842892
Kudos: 36





	1. Falling in love with him

**Author's Note:**

> From wattpad to Ao3. The first story of my Haikyuu series.

"Yume..? Yume?? EARTH TO YUME!!"

A loud yell rang in her ears and said girl snapped out of her daze. Her eyes tore away from whatever was occupying her attention to look at her best friend. With a nervous smile and an awkward laugh, she dared to respond with a "Sorry, did you say something?", making the already annoyed teen even more exasperated.

"If you're not gonna listen to me then go talk to him already," she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You look seriously creepy when you're staring at him."

The sudden comment caused a blush to form on her cheeks and she quickly covered them. "W-What?! Do I look _that_ weird? Akira, why didn't you say so sooner?" Yume whined in embarrassment, hoping that the boy she was staring at didn't see the face she was making. Her flustered face only made her best friend laugh in amusement.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he can't see the fish-face you were making seconds ago since he's basically facing away from us." Akira reassured her with a light pat on the shoulder. "But you know you're gonna have to tell him someday, right?"

Yume looked at her with wide eyes and shook her head vigorously, "Nu-uh. No way. No thanks. I'd die of embarrassment and humiliation the second he rejects me."

"How do you even know that he's going to reject you? You two never even spoke before."

"Pretty sure every guy in this class knows I'm weird."

"You know what's weird? A second year game-addict who doesn't interact with his classmates or _anyone_ for that matter, isn't athletic yet plays really good volleyball, AND has pudding-like hair!"

"Shut up and leave him alone. He's adorable." Yume pouted, turning her head to gaze at the Nekoma volleyball setter once again.

Kozume Kenma had been her crush since their first year in high school. She wasn't sure what it was but there was something about him that intrigued her. Was it because he was so quiet? Was it his passion for playing games? Or maybe because of the mysterious vibe he gives off? Yume had absolutely no idea what or why, but she knew for certain that she was in love with him.

"Come on. Let's go before the bell rings." Akira snapped her fingers in front of her best friend's face to wake her up again from her daze-like state.

Hurrying down the halls to their classrooms, Yume and Akira said their goodbyes before entering their respective rooms. Yume took notice of the eyebrow wiggle Akira made as she eyed the blonde boy sitting next to the window in class 2-3. She huffed and shooed her away, before quietly walking over to her seat and sitting down.

She glanced at Kenma who was busy playing on his PSP to even notice her, just like always. Right as she was about to say a greeting, the door to the room slid open and the teacher walked in to start the class. Sighing in defeat, she turned to face the board, completely unaware of the pair of golden eyes looking at her from their peripheral vision.

Throughout the entire day, Yume's thoughts would randomly start thinking about Kenma. With the way he looks so fixated on his phone during lunch time, she wondered what it would be like to be on the receiving end of his texts. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to hold his hand or to play with his hair. Would it be fun if the two of them played a multiplayer game together? Wait, no. She sucked at video games.

Various daydreams swirled in her mind until she realized that the bell already rang minutes ago and everyone was getting ready to go home. She quickly grabbed her books and stashed them away into her bag.

"Yume!" A voice called from the doorway. When she looked over and saw Akira waiting for her, she gave a slight wave, telling her to wait a bit.

"Can we stop by somewhere on the way home?" She asked when she exited the classroom. There was a light blush on her cheeks as she averted her gaze to the floor. "I was thinking of maybe...writing down my confession on paper?"

Yume looked up at her best friend with anxious eyes full of uncertainty; only to be met with excited ones as she was then congratulated on taking a step forward. "I knew you had it in you!" Akira hugged her tightly and swung her around. "My baby girl is finally growing up!"

"Hey! We're the same age!!"

"I don't care!"

"Well, I do!"

After their playful argument, the two walked home and stopped by a craft store on the way. Who knew choosing the perfect stationary would be so difficult. Not to mention, picking an envelope for it.

Yume stared at the envelopes held in front of her, her eyes squinted as she examined. Akira held a red envelope in one hand; the other held a pink one. "What's the difference?" She asked her after a full minute of contemplating. "You know, besides the obvious."

"Just pick one: red or pink!" Akira exclaimed and waved the envelopes. "It's a crucial decision!"

"I honestly doubt Kenma would care about the color." She deadpanned. "Like, seriously. He's just gonna tear the damn thing open anyway."

"That's true, but still..!"

"Why are you into this more than I am? _I'm_ the one who's confessing here!!" She laughed and took the red envelope. "Speaking of which, how does someone write a confession letter anyway?"

Akira grinned widely, "LEAVE THAT TO ME!"


	2. Her confession

_"_ _What was her name again..?"_ Kenma caught himself wondering as he gave a sideways glance at the petite girl sitting next to him in class. _"I feel like I've seen her before."_

He observed her carefully and silently like a cat studying a helpless mouse before it would pounce. But Kenma wouldn't pounce on her, no. He was much too shy to even say a simple hello. Besides, it wasn't like she was interested in him or anything.

"Don't forget to do your homework. Have a nice weekend, everyone." The teacher smiled and left the class.

Students began to stand and put their things away, excitedly chatting to each other about their plans for the weekend. Kenma took his PSP out and turned it on, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he readied himself to leave the room. "U-Um..!" A nervous voice directed at him made him flinch in surprise. Turning his head to look at the source of the voice, he saw it was the girl that sat next to him.

A short silence awkwardly hung in the air as he waited for her to say something. The girl, on the other hand, seemed to be blushing and stuttering for words to come out of her mouth. Kenma tilted his head, wondering what she was trying to tell him.

"C-C-Could you m-meet me a-after your pr-practice, K-K-Ko...Kozu-Kozume...-kun..?" She finally managed to say after what seemed like forever.

Kenma raised his eyebrows in surprise, a faint shade of pink made its way to his cheeks as he shyly nodded. The girl smiled when she saw he agreed to her request, and dipped her head low in a grateful bow, before running away and leaving Kenma standing alone in the room speechless.

He didn't even notice that Kuroo was already outside the door waiting for him. But the third year didn't want to interrupt so he waited patiently for them to finish their talk. After all, it was rare for people to try and make a conversation with his best friend, and vice versa. _Especially_ the female specie.

"So, Kenma, who was the girl?" Kuroo asked him while they walked to the gymnasium for their after school practices. "She's really cute~"

Kenma huffed in response to his teasing tone, muttering a reply saying that it was just a girl from his class. However Kuroo wasn't satisfied with just that answer, so he flashed his usual smirk and gently elbowed his best friend.

"Come on, Kenma, spill it. You like her, right?" He teased.

"No, I don't." Kenma automatically said.

"You do."

"I don't."

"You do."

"I don't."

"..."

"..."

"You do."

"I don't."

The duo made it to the gym and went off to change their uniforms. Practice went well except for the fact that Kuroo blurted out to the team that their usually quiet setter had an admirer. To which Yamamoto reacted depressingly as he got on his hands and knees, sulking in the corner of the room.

"How come Kenma gets an admirer and I don't? I bet she's cute too..." He muttered dejectedly.

"I never said it was a girl." Kuroo replied, waving his hand for their ace to rejoin the group.

"So Kenma has a _guy_ admirer?" He asked curiously.

"No, she's a girl."

Cue the dark clouds hovering over the wing spiker's head. Lev laughed at his upperclassman and commented about how miserable he looked.

"Lev, shut up." Kenma told him with a sigh.

Their coaches dismissed them after practice and closed the gym. The volleyball players changed out of their sweaty clothes and back to their school uniforms, all the while asking Kenma about the girl he was going to meet with. "How tall is she??" Lev happened to ask him. "Does it matter?" Yaku scoffed.

The group walked towards the school entrance as they talked while Kenma played on his PSP. Kai suddenly stopped at the gate, causing everyone to halt in their step and follow his gaze. "Can we help you with something?" He asked.

There, sitting next to the gate, was a small girl playing with a street cat. If it weren't for her uniform, he would have mistaken her as a junior high student.

The girl immediately stood up when she heard someone speak. "O-Oh! I-I was ju-just waiting for..." Her eyes darted around nervously until it was met with golden cat-like ones. "Ko-Kozume-kun!!"

Everyone looked at Kenma as she mentioned his name. The pudding head awkwardly looked away, not really knowing what to do. Kuroo grinned and started shoving his teammates along. "Alright, let's give them a little space. Kenma, I'll wait over there." He pointed just a few meters away from the school. "Ok?"

"Yeah... Sure..." Kenma replied uneasily and narrowed his eyes at him.

When the team left the two alone, they kind of just stood there in silence. Kenma resumed playing his game while he waited for her to speak. "Kozume...-kun," she began, her voice shaking noticeably. "I, um, well I... You see... I wanted to... To tell you..."

Kenma paused his game and glanced up at her. She was fidgeting with something behind her back. Something red and flat. When her eyes caught him staring at it, she gulped and shoved it into his hands. "I-I LIKE YOU!!!" She unintentionally yelled. "PLEASE ACCEPT THIS!!"

He blinked once. Twice. Thrice.

 _"_ _Wait, what..?"_ He thought in disbelief and looked at the red envelope, his expression remaining stoic and unchanging despite the numerous emotions attacking him.

"I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO LIKE ME BACK BUT I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU!" The girl kept saying in a loud voice. Then, after realizing that she was practically screaming at him, her face turned a crimson red before sputtering out an embarrassed "I'm sorry".

"So...yeah... That's what I wanted to say..." She mumbled. "So...umm... BYE!!!"

"Huh?" By the time Kenma looked up again, she was already running away at full speed.


	3. His reply

"Smooth. _Real_ smooth." Akira laughed loudly after hearing what happened. "I can't believe you were shouting at him too!"

"Sh-Shut up! I got nervous, ok?!" Yume whined and covered her face with her pillow.

The entirety of their Saturday morning consisted of Akira laughing her ass off at her best friend's predicament while Yume brooded over having to see her crush on Monday. How was she supposed to face him after that pathetic confession?!

"I'm gonna die alone... Soon enough cats are going to start avoiding me on the streets..." She cried, making Akira double over in laughter.

"You're hilarious!!"

"I'm being serious..."

"Nah, you'll be fine~"

Yume pouted at her and narrowed her eyes as she casually took a cookie from the plate. "You're not helping... Plus, I'm pretty sure the whole volleyball team heard me. Heck, I'm pretty sure _Tokyo_ evenheard me!" She opened her arms out dramatically, before rolling over to her back and glaring at the ceiling. "Akira, kill me."

"Yeah, no thanks. I'm not willing to sit in jail because you decided to tell the world how you feel about him." She replied and took a cookie for herself, biting down onto it.

" _Please_ kill me?" Yume asked, politely this time.

"I'm not changing my mind just because you said 'please'!"

"Then I'll transfer schools..."

"You're overthinking this."

"But Akira..."

"Yume, shut up and eat your cookie."

"Hmph," She munched on the cookie noisily like a hamster. "Some best friend _you_ are."

"I _am_ pretty amazing, aren't I~?" Akira joked, earning her a pillow to the face.

Yume sighed loudly and rolled around her bed. "Why do I have to be such an awkward person when it comes to the guys I like?" She asked her. "Pretty sure every girl has their moments." Akira replied, standing up and tugging her friend's hand. "Come on, I know what will cheer you up."

Although reluctant to leave the comforts of her bedroom, she allowed her to drag her out of the house and down the street. Yume looked up at the clear blue sky, taking in the rare scenery before her. Being an indoor person, she hated going out into the public lands. However there were times that she would peek out the door just to look at the sky.

Their neighborhood was relatively quiet and the two walked, relishing the peaceful serenity. If Yume had to choose between the city or the countryside, she'd have picked the second option in a heartbeat.

The melodious chirping of cicadas during the night would lull her to sleep. The rustling of tree leaves as she walked down a trail would be like a song to her ears. She loved the idea of it. A city's polluted air and repetitive car honking during traffic jams were nothing to compared to that. At least, in her opinion.

"LOOK OUT!"

Someone warned a little too late as something collided with the side of Yume's head, knocking her down to the ground with a loud thud.

"Yume, are you ok!?" Akira knelt beside her and tried shaking her awake. "Hey! You still alive?!"

Two pairs of footsteps jogged over to them, casting a large shadow over the girl. As her eyes slowly opened to look at the culprit of her assault, she stiffened upon recognizing the two Nekoma High students. A lazy smile plastered on Kuroo's lips as he waved.

"Glad to see you still alive. Sorry about that." He said and helped her up. "Lev spiked the ball a bit too hard."

Towering beside him was the half-Russian player, Lev, who was scratching the back of his head and bowing apologetically. "Sorry, Kamiya-senpai. I didn't see you there since you were so tiny."

"Go die." She deadpanned.

"Eh?!"

Kuroo laughed at her immediate response to his teammate's apology. Then, after hearing Yaku's call, he told Lev to retrieve the ball and head back to the group.

"What are you guys doing here?" Akira asked him, eyeing the team curiously. "Shouldn't you be practicing at school or something?"

Kuroo shrugged, "Nothing wrong with playing volleyball outdoors once in a while." He glanced at Yume, who was hopelessly staring at Kenma, and snickered.

"W-What's so funny?" She asked.

"Nothing," Kuroo answered. "But, you know, Kenma was really surprised after you ran away like that all of a sudden."

"Who wouldn't." Akira sneered.

"Shut up." Yume grumbled, crossing her arms. "I didn't need to hear his rejection. I already know what his answer was anyway."

"No, you don't."

She looked at the middle blocker quizzically and, before she could run away again, he held her shoulder and called for Kenma to come over. "Wait, what are you doing?!" She squeaked when she saw the blonde slowly walk closer to them.

"Hey, Kenma, got something to say to Kamiya?" He nudged her closer. Akira cheered for her from behind.

"S-Sorry..." Yume mumbled shyly and kept her eyes on her shoes. "For, you know... Yelling at your face and, uhh, running away afterwards."

Kenma blinked at her, his usual expression masking his nervousness. "It's...fine..." He said and took out a folded piece of stationary from his pocket. "Thank you...for the letter..." He averted his gaze and looked down as well. After a moment of awkward silence, he mumbled, "Sorry... I'm not good with talking to people..."

Yume immediately shook her head and looked up at him. "It's ok! I mean, I know you don't really talk to others..." Her sentence trailed off when he presented the paper in front of her eyes. "What's...this..?" She plucked the paper from his fingers and opened it, reading the letter quietly.

Kenma glanced at Kuroo, who was grinning at him with a thumbs-up. Then, he looked back at her.

"It's...my response...to your letter, that is..." He said.

**_I don't mind trying_ ** _**dating you.** _

Yume felt her cheeks redden in color as she read the single sentence on the stationary. Slowly, she brought her head up and looked at the blushing setter in front of her.

"I'm not good with people, and I don't want to interact with them." He told her matter-of-factly. Yume held her breath as he spoke. "But I don't mind trying..."


	4. His thoughts

Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would say those words in his life. As if making idle conversation with his classmates was hard enough. Now _dating_?! Kenma was nervous about the idea, but Kuroo somehow managed to persuade him.

"I don't even know anything about dating..." He muttered while staring at the confession letter she had given him.

"Why not try it out? Who knows, you might end up liking her in the end. If you don't, then..." Kuroo trailed off, not finishing his sentence.

"I don't know..." The pudding head sighed, feeling troubled. "I wouldn't know how to deal with it if she starts crying..."

"So you're planning on rejecting her then?"

His words made him frown as he pictured his seatmate bursting into tears if he said that. How was he supposed to handle that? Why did she have to put him in this situation? Did he really want to say 'no' to her? Either way, she would probably be crying if he rejected her or dumped her. There was clearly no way out.

Kuroo tapped his head to get his attention, making him look up at the taller boy. "Kenma, do you like her?" He asked bluntly, his expression serious.

Kenma thought for a bit about how he felt before replying, "I don't like her but I don't dislike her."

The confusing response only made Kuroo shrug and sigh, "So it's neutral then..."

"Yeah..." He replied.

"So why not try it?"

"What if I don't like her?"

"But what if you _do_?"

Kenma gave a small pout then finally gave in, knowing Kuroo wasn't going to give it a rest until he gave the girl a definite response. It wasn't like he was being annoying about it. This was the gamer's first time being confessed to, after all. So of course Kuroo was going to let him try it out. Kind of like how he tried out volleyball when they were kids.

That conversation led to Kuroo inviting himself over to his house to help with his letter. To which Kenma never understood the purpose why until Kuroo reminded him how he was usually unable to talk to people well. In case he messed it up and caused some sort of misunderstanding, just give the girl a letter!

The second meeting turned out to be quite an accident: Lev hitting Yume with a ball to the head. In all honesty, when he saw her hitting the ground like she dropped dead, he inwardly panicked.

She was fine though...

After her brief chat with Kuroo, the middle blocker called him over to them. Kenma remembered the shocked expression she made when she read the letter he gave her. _"She thought I was going to reject her..."_ Kenma thought to himself. The overjoyed smile on her face made him feel sort of grateful that Kuroo persuaded him into agreeing.

_Beep!_

His phone chimed, alerting him to a text message. When he checked to see who it was, he felt a fluttering feeling in his stomach as he saw her name appear on his screen.

 **To:** **Kozume Kenma**  
 **From:** **Kamiya Yume**

**Good morning, Kozume-kun!**

The text was simple yet it made him blush. He replied back with a 'good morning' of his own, before grabbing his bag and walking to the station with Kuroo.

Ever since they exchanged emails, Yume had been sending him good morning and good night texts everyday. It was a little weird at first. But after a while, it made him feel oddly happy and the other members of the club could clearly see the glow on his face whenever he heard his phone chime.

"What do you guys even text about everyday?" Yamamoto asked him on the way to their classrooms.

Kenma didn't even look up from his phone as he replied, "She asks me about the games I play..."

"Ah, so that's why..." He and the others smiled.

Yume wasn't very good at video games, but she liked the ones with stories in them. So she would ask Kenma about the plots and, since Kenma never had anyone to talk with about his games, he would reply almost enthusiastically.

"When's your date?" Yaku asked curiously.

"Tomorrow after school," He replied.

"Heh, good luck, man!" Yamamoto gave him a slap on the back before entering his classroom. Yaku waved goodbye and left for his, which was located a floor above them.

"Tell us all about it afterwards." Kuroo told him. "Though don't go _too_ crazy. We still have a practice match against Karasuno the day after."

"Right," He nodded. Then, after realizing what he said, he huffed. "We won't do anything crazy..."

Golden week was coming up but since the volleyball club would be busy with practices most of the time, Kenma suggested that they had their date before then.

"Oh, Kozume-kun, good morning!" A cheerful voice spoke from beside him as he sat in his seat.

"Good morning..." He gave a slight wave before taking his PSP out again.

Yume nodded, satisfied with his reply. She then sat quietly in her seat and started doodling in her notebook. Kenma frowned a bit. He wished he could say something to her. But he didn't know how to start a conversation. So the two of them sat in silence doing their own thing.

After their morning lessons ended, the lunch bell rang and Kuroo waited by the door as usual. Akira did the same, waving Yume over while holding her bento.

"HEY YUUUMEEE!!" She exclaimed and slung her arm around the other's shoulders with a mischievous grin. "Kuroo invited us for lunch! Isn't it great?"

"Oh. Really?" Yume blinked up at Kuroo questioningly.

"Yeah. You and Kenma wouldn't be able to spend any time together for a while. So why not?" He grinned at the blonde. "Bet Kenma's gonna miss you."

"Will not." Kenma retorted as they walked up to the roof.

"Will too."

"Will not."

"Will too."

"Will not."

Yume smiled awkwardly at the exchange, unsure how to feel about it. But she knew Kenma wasn't one to admit those types of things so she shrugged it off. "Hey, Yume, is that apple pie?" Akira pointed at the slice of pie she brought with her.

"Hm, yeah. I bought it at a shop near my house this morning before coming here." She said, taking a seat between Kenma and Akira.

"Ooh, interesting~ Kamiya, why not feed a piece to-- Oof!" Kuroo held a hand to his stomach where Kenma elbowed.

"Shut up, Kuroo..." Kenma grumbled.

Looking at Kuroo then at Kenma, she snapped her fingers in realization.

"Here Kenma~" She broke off a piece of pie with her fingers then held it up to the wide-eyed setter.

Kenma's eyebrow twitched as he was unable to turn down an offer of his favorite food. Trying his best to ignore Kuroo and Akira with their phones out, he opened his mouth and allowed her to feed him.

"...Thanks..."


	5. First date

She always knew she was in love. How? It was the way her heart pounded furiously in her chest like a warning alarm, that if she looked at him too much then she'd pass out right then and there. Everything he did mesmerized her: his aloofness, his shy smile, the way he would try to hide his face with his dyed hair. To Yume, there was no one more perfect than the love of her high school life.

"Yume?" He spoke meekly like a quiet mouse, almost as if he was scared of her.

The voice that spoke her name caused her to blush from pink to red. Not one boy she had ever met made her feel this way. She loved the way his lips moved as he called her name. It hypnotized her and she stood there staring at him. His cat-like eyes glanced at her nervously as if he had done something wrong.

"Sorry..." He murmured, tensed. She looked at him concerned and wondered why he was apologizing so suddenly.

"What for?" She asked and stepped closer to shorten the distance between them. Kenma's head was bowed but his eyes kept their gaze locked on her own. He was honestly too adorable for his own good.

"I called you by your first name without asking..." He voiced out his reason after a few seconds.

This made her smile fondly at him. She loved how he acted so timid around her. It was too cute for words.

"Don't worry about it~" She reassured him with a smile. "Should I call you by your first name too~?"

"Sure... I don't mind..." He replied, flashing her a miniscule smile.

 _"C-Cute!"_ She thought to herself, eyes unblinking as she didn't want to miss a second of this rare moment. If she took her phone out now then he would surely hide his face from the camera. So she decided to capture the expression he wore in her heart.

"We still have half an hour...before the movie starts..." Kenma spoke up again. "Do you mind if we go to the game store first...?"

"Game store?" She echoed his request.

A frown made its way to his lips as he took it negatively, "It's fine if you don't want to--"

Yume clamped her hands over his mouth unexpectedly, cutting him off. "No, that's not what I meant at all! I mean..." She slowly removed her hands and hid them behind her back. "I'd like to go. I don't like games because I suck at them, but you like them so... I'm okay with it!"

Kenma nodded, undeniably happy on the inside as she gave her honest reply. Not many girls would have liked to go, but seeing as she was okay with it, he heaved a sigh of relief. It would have been a problem if they didn't get along because of that.

Thus, the two of them walked to the game store together. Upon entering the small building, Yume gasped at the rows of shelves carrying a multitude of games, consoles, and a number of things she didn't know the names of. Kenma, on the other hand, made his way to the counter and asked if the game he wanted was in stock.

Not wanting to bother him, she walked through the aisles and browsed the store. "Oh, I've heard of this..." She picked one up and read the back of the cover. "Zombies, huh. Why are there so many zombie games now?"

Meanwhile, Kenma searched the store for her. As he walked over to where she was, he sighed a bit dejectedly when he told her that they were sold out of the game he wanted. His disheartened appearance broke her heart. She never wanted to see him sad, even it is because of a game.

"Let's look in another store then!" She declared and grabbed his wrist, pulling him out of the store and looking for another one.

"But... Is that ok?" He glanced behind him worriedly. "We're going to miss the movie."

She stopped walking and turned to face him, her expression unreadable. Kenma lowered his gaze feeling intimidated by her stare. "Kenma... Do you really want to go see that movie? Tell me the truth." She asked him seriously.

He didn't want to answer at first. But if he didn't answer then what would happen? Would she be mad at him? Would she hate him thinking that he was giving her the silent treatment?

"I don't really like romance movies..." He finally said.

Kenma expected her to be annoyed or angry. More than anything, he knew he didn't want to spend his free time watching a cheesy romance movie, when he could be curled up in his blankets at home and playing his video games. But that's not because he didn't want to spend time with her. Kenma was trying his best to not upset her, so he told her the truth.

What he didn't expect at all was for her to smile brightly at his answer. "Good. Because I actually hate cheesy romance movies!" Yume laughed and continued tugging him along. "Now, let's go find that game, shall we~?"

The happiness shown in his eyes made her giggle. She loved it when he was happy.

They walked to four different game stores before finally finding one that had one last copy of the game. Yume was relieved since her feet was starting to hurt from all the walking they had done. So after he paid for it and walked out of the store with her, she noted that it was getting late and that she had to go home.

Kenma felt guilty that he ruined their entire date just because of his selfishness. Yume had been incredibly understanding and thoughtful of him throughout the entire day. "Do you want to...come over to my house...?" He blurted out without thinking.

"Eh?" She giggled. "Don't want me to leave yet, Kenma~?"

"..."

"Hey, I was just kidding~" She laughed quietly at his silence. Poking his cheek, she noticed that he wasn't looking at her. "Kenma..?"

Still keeping silent, Kenma gently took her hand in his. "Kenma?" Yume called his name again. She peeked at his face, only to find his cheeks tinted in a light shade of pink.

"Let's play the game...at my house..." He mumbled softly, barely audible for anyone to hear. But she heard his request clearly and felt a smile tug the corners of her lips.

"So you really don't want me to leave yet~" She teased and poked his cheek again.

Maybe most girls her age wouldn't like the idea of playing video games as their ideal first date. But Yume didn't care as long as she got to be with Kenma. It didn't matter whether he took her to the movies, an amusement park, or simply playing video games together in his bedroom. She knew, without a doubt, that she loved Kenma for being Kenma.


	6. His feelings

**(Draft)**

**To: Kozume Kenma**   
**From: Kamiya Yume**

**Good morning, Kenma! I miss you ♡**

**\---**

**(Draft)**

**To: Kozume Kenma**   
**From: Kamiya Yume**

**How is practice going? Are you having any fun?**

**\---**

**(Draft)**

**To: Kozume Kenma**   
**From: Kamiya Yume**

**I want to see you soon...**

**\---**

" _Kenma, we're gonna beat you in the next game!" A rather loud orange-haired boy declared with confidence._

_"We'll see..." Kenma simply nodded, still playing on his game console._

_"HINATA, HURRY UP AND GET OVER HERE!" The dark-haired setter of the Karasuno volleyball team yelled angrily._

_Kenma frowned at the loud shoutings of his friend's teammates. Not that he hated them or anything, they were just a bit too rowdy sometimes._

_The Nekoma High team had won 2 games already and Hinata kept asking for a rematch. His determination to beat them seemed to fuel him as he didn't seem even the least bit tired. Kenma watched as the hyperactive ball of sunshine got hit on the head by his partner._

_"They're as loud as ever," Kuroo smirked._

_"I guess..." He shrugged and continued mashing the buttons on his PSP. His eyes would unconsciously glance at the black phone sitting next to him on the bench before looking back at his game._

_Kuroo grinned widely and picked up the phone, making Kenma pause the game and look up at his best friend with curiosity. "She hasn't texted yet?" The ravenette mused. Turning on the device, he looked over at the pudding head. "Or were you waiting for her to call?"_

_The question caught him off-guard and Kenma had to look away, hoping that his hair would cover the light blush on his cheeks._

Yume's last message to him was from the other night and she hasn't sent one since they went to Miyagi Prefecture for their practice match against their rivals. That was around two days ago.

It was a little strange, even pathetic in his eyes, that he wanted to hear the familiar chime of his smartphone go off. He was never going to admit it, especially when Kuroo was around to hear, but he loved the encouraging messages Yume sent him everyday. It's only been more or less a week since they started going out, but he quickly got used to her affection through text messages.

"Why don't you give her a call then?" Lev suggested to him yesterday during their morning run.

It was clear to everyone on the team that he missed her. Which sounded ridiculous to Kenma since he barely knew the girl. Did they ever talk about themselves? He didn't recall ever talking to her about her personal life. Actually, he could barely recall just talking to her in general. Most of their conversations consisted of Yume talking and Kenma just listening to her while playing his games.

 _"Did she get tired of me then?"_ Kenma wondered. _"Is she going to ask for a break-up when we see each other in school?"_

At the thought of a break-up, he began to inwardly panic and sleep seemed impossible for the pudding head. He searched around his bed for his phone and turned it on, squinting his eyes from the brightness of the screen in the dark room.

He scrolled through his contacts, finding her name and hovered his thumb over the call button. _"What if she's asleep? What time does she sleep anyway?"_ He wondered and wondered to himself, debating whether or not he was going to call her at this ungodly hour.

As Kenma argued with himself back and forth, his hand loosened its grip and he dropped his phone. A loud beep sounded when it hit him square in the face, followed by a low ringing sound. His eyes widened in alarm and he quickly picked up his phone to try and end the call, but froze when he saw that she answered.

"Hello?"

"..................Hello.................." Kenma replied, praying that she couldn't hear his heart.

"Huh...?...That voice..." Yume suddenly gasped as she realized. "K-Kenma..! Sorry, I didn't think you would call so I never thought it was you. I didn't check the caller ID either.."

"Ah, that's... Well..." He struggled to find the right words but couldn't seem to come up with any. He silently cursed himself and his inability to hold one measly conversation.

"Um... Yeah... So, uhh, why'd you call? It's nearly midnight so I thought you would be sleeping by now..." She said, mumbling the last part.

Kenma could hear a different emotion in her voice as she spoke to him. He stayed quiet for a short while. Yume stayed quiet too, not wanting to rush him into talking. After nearly 5 minutes passed, she broke the silence.

"Kenma..? Are you still there??"

He hummed in response. "I was just...wondering what you were thinking about..."

"What I am thinking about??" She repeated, sounding very surprised.

"Mm-hmm... You never sent me a single message while I was away in Miyagi during our practice match with Karasuno....." He sighed a little, then rolled over to his stomach. "Did I do something...that made you mad at me?"

"W-What?! Of course not!! Kenma, you haven't done anything wrong! I just--"

"...Just?"

Yume fell silent on the other line. But Kenma could still hear her breathing, which meant that she was still on the call. He waited patiently for her to speak up.

It was already minutes passed midnight but he didn't care. He wanted to know what was going on.

"I just......." She began nervously. "I....didn't want to.....bother you....."

"...Huh?" He blinked, shocked. " _Bother_ me? You're never bothering me though."

"Oh, uhh, s-sorry.. I just realized a few days ago that I text you _waaay_ too much. I kinda thought that maybe you would get annoyed by them." She sighed loudly. "I was trying to hold back a bit. But I always end up typing something to you."

"I see... I'm kind of relieved to hear that..." He confessed shyly. "Not that I hated your messages...or anything like that... I was just wondering if you were tired of me already since you hadn't texted in a while."

"Ehh? So Kenma wonders about those kinds of things too???" She gasped.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" He pouted.

"Ah, sorry. Haha, I just didn't think of you as the type to worry about those things, Kenma!" She laughed. "I thought I was the only one who worries about that."

"...Idiot..." He huffed.

"Hehe~ Let's go to sleep now, ok? We can talk about it tomorrow." She said. "Good night, Kenma~"

"Ah. Yeah. Good night."

"I love you~"

Kenma blushed. He grabbed the edge of his blanket and pulled it over his head. Before Yume had a chance to hang up the call, he whispered back

"I love you...too."


	7. Can I hold her hand?

Kuroo stared at the second year setter as he made grabbing motions with his left hand. Kenma had done some pretty unusual things in his life like not sleeping for 30 hours because he couldn't beat a boss in one of his games. But this was obviously not about a video game.

"Oi, Kenma, what are you doing?" Kuroo asked after what seemed like 5 minutes of guessing. "Is your hand cramping up? From all those years of gaming I thought your fingers got used to it or something."

Kenma frowned and shook his head. He looked up at Kuroo. Should he tell him? Should he not?

Kuroo blinked while Kenma continued to look at him thoughtfully. After a few moments, the blonde decided to give up and just tell him the problem. He held out his hand in front of Kuroo, to which the captain raised a curious brow, and told him seriously.

"I'm not sure why but I kind of want to hold Yume's hand."

"...Is that it?" Kuroo deadpanned. "You know, Kenma, she's not going to bite. Probably."

"That's not reassuring........" Kenma grumbled as he imagined his girlfriend biting his hand like an angry chihuahua. "Is it normal to hold hands with someone you've been dating for less than a month?"

"Sure. Why not?" Kuroo shrugged with a light smirk. "I'm more curious as to why you're so hesitant about it. Yume seems like the type to not mind that sort of thing."

 _"_ _That's true..._ _"_ Kenma mentally agreed.

The two were walking towards the gym and it was still early morning. Kenma wasn't too keen on attending since it was a Sunday, but coach said that Lev needed the extra practice. Plus, Kuroo was always there next door to drag him out of his room anyway.

"Good morning!" Everyone greeted them as they entered.

"Good morning." Kuroo and Kenma greeted back.

Yaku watched questioningly as Kenma stared at his hand and resumed grabbing motions with it. He didn't expect himself to be witnessing the day when Kenma would be acting _this_ strange. What weirded him out the most was that their setter was doing this with such a straight face.

"What's wrong with him?" Yamamoto asked them as he scrunched his brows and squinted his eyes at Kenma.

Kuroo snickered, "He wants to hold his girlfriend's hand but is too shy to initiate it."

After explaining it to the team who were standing around, everyone smiled in sympathy at their precious setter's predicament. Kuroo grinned in amusement then decided to take charge, getting everyone into volleyball mode and starting practice. It wouldn't be long until their next match so they needed to be prepared for their upcoming opponents.

Coach Nekomata examined his team from the side of the gym with a proud smile. The third years would be graduating and he needed the rest of the members in good shape. Especially their half-Russian rookie who has absolute zero experience in the sport.

But that wouldn't be much of a problem since they have their brain and heart of the team: Kozume Kenma.

"Oops...." Kenma mumbled as his toss was a little too low, causing Lev to miss the spike.

Coach Nekomata frowned confused and leaned forward in his seat. Did he really see that right? Did Kenma actually mess up? That was rare.

 _"People make mistakes,"_ Nekomata reminded himself and leaned back in his seat.

"Don't mind!" Yamamoto shouted.

"I'll definitely get the next one!" Lev cheered and readied himself for the next jump.

Kenma took a deep breath and grabbed another volleyball from the cart. _"Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about--"_ He tossed the ball into the air as Lev made the jump.

Nekomata narrowed his eyes as he saw the ball fly over Lev's reach. The taller player landed, blinking and wondering where the ball went, before yelping in surprise when it hit him on the head.

"Eh.." Kuroo sweatdropped at the scene.

He dared himself to look at the coach and regretted it immediately. The regulars felt their hearts stop when they saw the steam coming out of the eldery man's ears.

"Oi Kenma! Get your head in the game!" Coach Nekomata scolded.

Kenma sighed in frustration and nodded without saying anything. He didn't want to look but he knew the other regulars were giving him encouraging smiles. He picked up another volleyball, calculated Lev's running speed and the point of his jump, before tossing the ball and--

"GEH!?" Lev yelped again as the ball hit his right cheek.

"..."

Kenma slowly and awkwardly looked away, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

"I think it's time for a break," The coach suggested with a sigh.


	8. Jealousy

Yume stood up from her seat as soon as the bell rang. It was Friday, and that meant no school the next day, it also meant that the Nekoma High Volleyball club was going to be having their usual practices. She sighed. It wasn't like she was against her boyfriend having something else to do, but she did miss him a lot since their trip to the countryside.

 _"And all I can do is support him... I feel so useless though..."_ She sighed again, feeling dispirited that she couldn't help him with anything.

"Hey! Yume!"

_"Maybe I should start reading books about volleyball? Or I could read articles about setting?"_

"Yuuuuume!!"

_"If I start talking to him about setting and have no idea what I'm saying, then I'll look really dumb! I don't want that!"_

"OI, WATCH IT!"

A blur of white and black appeared in front of her and she instantly felt someone pull her back. "Huh?" She blinked, suddenly finding herself embraced by a much taller person.

Looking up at what was going on, she saw that Kuroo had his arm wrapped around her, his other arm blocked a stray soccer ball that was headed her way. The volleyball captain frowned as he glanced at Yume, causing her to tense up.

"Sorry, my bad!" One of the soccer players bowed apologetically.

"I-It's alright," Yume stuttered, still in shock.

As the soccer group left, Kuroo released his hold and let her go, his expression slowly softening. Yume heaved a sigh of relief, then bowed to the upperclassman.

"Thank you, Kuroo." She said.

"No problem," He chuckled. "You know, Kenma was practically ready to run over and block the ball with his face."

"Kenma?!?" She exclaimed and looked around.

Kenma was walking over to the two with an annoyed expression. However, when his scowling eyes met with his girlfriend's surprised ones, he quickly averted his gaze down to the floor, a light blush coloring his cheeks. Kuroo was grinning at his friend with amusement. It was adorable how Kenma acted when it concerned Yume, and Kuroo just loved watching his reactions to certain situations.

"I wasn't going to block the ball with my face." Kenma huffed.

"You probably would have~" Kuroo teased.

"Shut up, Kuro." The blonde sighed and proceeded to walk ahead, leaving his best friend and girlfriend behind.

Yume and Kuroo looked at each other with smiling faces, before jogging to catch up with the pouting second year.

It became a new routine for the three of them to walk home together since Yume's house was one train stop away from theirs. Kuroo was always such an entertaining guy, telling stories about him and the pudding head during their childhood days, explaining basics of volleyball to her. Yume loved learning about anything related to Kenma, and since her boyfriend was always too shy to talk about himself, Kuroo decided to help him out by casually talking about him.

Normally, Kenma wouldn't mind the two chatting about him. Sometimes he would even speak up and tell a few stories himself; other times, he would just correct Kuroo about certain things.

But, this time, Kenma was silent. Very silent.

Yume noticed immediately when they got on the train. Kenma was frowning and angrily mashing the buttons of his game console. It wasn't the first time he's done that, he would always get frustrated when he couldn't get pass a level, but this time his irritation was directed at something else. She wasn't entirely sure what, but she knew it wasn't the game.

"Kenma, you alright?" Kuroo spoke up, having noticed the pudding head's behavior as well.

"Fine..." Kenma muttered.

The train slowed to a stop and the doors opened. Yume got up and was about to join the others who were getting off, when she glanced over her shoulder at her boyfriend, frowning sadly since he usually says goodbye before she left. This time, he didn't.

"I'll see you on Monday, Kenma..." She mumbled quietly to the blonde, then stepped out of the train.

As the doors closed shut and the train began to move again, Kenma lowered his PSP and looked up, just in time to see her walk away. He felt his heart heavy with regret as he watched her leave. Wanting to ignore it completely, he unpaused his game and continued playing.

"Kenma?" Kuroo called him, a concerned look on his face. "You sure you're alright? You didn't even say goodbye to Yume."

"Why don't you do it." Kenma retorted, his tone clearly showing his mood.

Kuroo was taken aback at the new emotion his best friend was displaying. Kenma was never _this_ angry with him before. The scheming captain looked up at the ceiling and thought of reasons why the setter could be in such a mood.

"...Are you angry because I was hugging Yume earlier?" He deduced, casting him a sideways glance.

"..."

"You are?" Kuroo smirked. "You are, aren't you."

"Shut up, Kuro." Kenma blushed in embarrassment.

"Well, well. This is really interesting~" Kuroo mused, wiggling his eyebrows. "Kenma getting annoyed at other guys touching his girl."

"I said shut up, Kuro." Kenma grumbled and turned his back to him.

"Hmm~?" Kuroo hummed, smiling.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

".....Don't tell Yume."


	9. Regrets and misunderstandings

"Hey, it's Yume! Leave a message after the beep--*BEEP*"

Kenma called again.

"Hey, it's Yume! Leave a message after the beep--*BEEP*"

And again.

"Hey, it's Yume! Leave a message after the beep--*BEEP*"

Fear coursed through his veins after what seemed like the 20th missed call. Kenma was at volleyball practice on a Saturday morning and he was doing horribly. His mind was divided between trying to concentrate on his tosses and unconsciously replaying the dreaded scene of his girlfriend walking away.

Coach Nekomata was getting impatient at his constant screw-ups; after all, Kenma rarely ever got distracted in volleyball. Although he did not particularly like or dislike the sport, he was good at his job as a setter. However, his recent blunders have left the Nekoma coach completely puzzled.

It was very un-Kenma of Kenma to be this distracted by something other than his games.

His teammates noticed, of course, and kept a close eye on him throughout practice. They noticed his spaced out looks and had to repeatedly warn him when he was about to bump into something during laps. During lunch break they had to snap him out of his depressed-like trance because he would suddenly stop eating.

It was very un-Kenma of Kenma to be this upset by something that he normally wouldn't even think about.

Kuroo, his childhood friend who had known him for years, didn't know what to do. Kuroo Tetsurō, the scheming captain, didn't know what to do.

In all his life knowing Kenma, he had never seen the pudding head this sensitive about something. Or rather, someone.

Dating anyone never seemed to have crossed the gamer's mind before, not until he met Yume, that is. She was a rather quirky girl and someone Kuroo had thought to be a total weirdo. But, hey, so was Kenma in other people's eyes.

They were a strange pair. An odd couple. But never had two people been more perfect for each other.

"Hey, it's Yume! Leave a message after the beep--*BEEP*"

So why wasn't she answering any of his calls?

"Is she mad at me..?" Kenma felt sick with apprehension at the thought as he stared at the phone in his hand. Fear, regret, and uncertainty, his heart pounded in his chest with these heavy emotions. "I need to stop thinking about it...and get my head in the game...or else coach will get mad..."

Kuroo watched him from a few feet away, concern etching his usual carefree expressions. Kenma had been too quiet today and if they didn't do something about it soon, their team is going to fall apart.

Forcing a smile to wipe away the worry on his face, the volleyball captain walked over to the bench where his best friend sat, observing him quietly while Kenma repeatedly tried to call his girlfriend in vain.

"Hey, Kenma, wanna go check out the store after practice?" The taller male piped up, trying to lighten the mood. "We can check out if any new games are--"

"No thanks." Kenma interrupted him.

The team looked at their setter like he grew a second head or something.

"Did Kenma just say no to video games?"

They glanced at one another, unsure how to get him to snap out of it. If games weren't going to work, then what would?

"Hey, it's Yume! Leave a message after the beep--*BEEP*"

Kuroo sighed.

After one more look at the pudding head's depressed face, Kuroo quickly snatched the mobile device from his setter's hands. Kenma flinched and, after staring at his empty hands for about a good minute, looked up and glared at his captain.

"Kuro..." He grumbled the nickname and tried to reach for his phone, but Kuroo held it up higher so that he couldn't reach. "Kuroo, give it back."

The ravenette slid the phone into his pocket, "No."

"Kuroo."

"You have to give it a rest, Kenma."

"But--"

"I get that you're feeling guilty about all this... But maybe you should give her some space."

"......"

"She's probably still upset if she's not answering any of your calls. Give her time. She'll come around."

"...But...what if she doesn't?...."

"She will eventually."

"But what IF?"

"Kenma," Kuroo grabbed him by the shoulders and lightly shook him. His dark eyes narrowed as he stared into Kenma's golden ones seriously. "You need to calm down. You're going to exhaust yourself if you keep this up."

Casting his eyes downward, Kenma stared at the floor, feeling defeated.

"...I didn't mean to get jealous at the two of you...." He mumbled sadly.

"I know." Kuroo smirked. "I'm surprised that you get jealous at all. You've been more expressive with your emotions ever since you started dating Yume."

"Shut up, Kuroo..." Kenma ducked his head lower as he tried to hide his blush with his long hair.

"Heh. Tell you what, tomorrow's Sunday. So..." Kuroo let go of Kenma's shoulders. "If it makes you feel any better, we can go visit Yume's house."

At the mention of his suggestion, Kenma's eyes lit up and Kuroo could have sworn he heard a choir of angels sing.

"We'll, uhh, bring flowers or something. Try to clear up the misunderstanding. Or, you know, explain about why you acted the way you did." Kuroo shrugged.

Kenma frowned, "Would she even want to see me?"

"Maybe?"

"I thought you said I should give her space. This plan of yours is the complete opposite, Kuroo..."

"Well what am I supposed to do? You were sulking!!"


	10. First Kiss

Akira grinned widely as she spread her arms out, gesturing to the tall gates of Yume's home. The walls seemed to stretch out around the entire block and one could see the red roof peeking from above them. Kuroo gave out a low whistle.

"Impressive," He smirked and gave Kenma a light pat on the back.

"This is...where she lives?..." Kenma asked nervously. "..You're sure...?..."

"Of course I am! We've had slumber parties here since our first year!" Akira laughed and rang the doorbell. "She doesn't own the property, mind you. This place belongs to her grandparents."

Kenma swallowed the lump in his throat and glanced at Kuroo from the corner of his eye. The taller male seemed to be busy admiring the place. Kenma sighed, wanting to go home.

After a few moments, the wooden gates creaked open to reveal a young man curiously staring at the two high school boys. Akira waved a hand and smiled.

"They're with me. No worries~" She flashed him a peace sign.

The man raised an eyebrow and frowned, but pressed no further and allowed them in. Akira led them to the front door where they removed their shoes, then proceeded inside the house.

"Is Yume around?" Akira asked the man. He nodded and pointed up.

Kenma and Kuroo followed Akira as she brought them upstairs. She stopped in front of a door with a sign that read **Kamiya Yume**. Knocking twice against the hard wood, they heard light footsteps approach the door and a faint click of a lock.

"Hey Yume! Look who I brought!" Akira gestures towards Kenma and Kuroo with a big smile. "Can we come in?"

Kenma held his breath as he took a good look at his girlfriend. She was still in her pajamas, which meant that she probably just woke up. He was happy to see her, but slightly saddened when he saw the dark circles around her eyes.

Yume, on the other hand, looked startled upon seeing the three of them in front of her. When she noticed Kenma staring, she hurriedly patted down her bedhead and looked away shyly.

"Yeah, I guess..." She shrugged and stepped aside, allowing them in her bedroom.

The group circled around a small table in the middle of the room and took their seats. Akira sat beside Yume on her left side, Kuroo stayed at her right, while Kenma sat across from her.

No one said anything, so they just sat in complete silence.

"....."

Kuroo cleared his throat and glanced at Akira, who looked at him with a light shrug. They both looked towards Kenma who was anxiously fiddling with his phone.

"Umm... Do you guys want some tea ot something?" Yume asked quietly, avoiding eye contact with the boys.

Kuroo nodded. "Sure, I'll have some. Kenma?" He looked towards the pudding head. Kenma shrugged. "Kenma will have some too. Thanks."

Yume gave a small smile and left the room to get the drinks. By the time the door closed shut, Kuroo turned to Kenma and gently nudged him.

"Oi. Kenma. Why didn't you give her the flowers?" He asked him with a slight pout. "Where are they anyway?"

"In my bag." Kenma sighed. "I don't want people staring at me in the streets."

Akira giggled. "Well you're going to have to give them to her or else they'll start to wilt in that bag of yours." She told him matter-of-factly.

Kenma knew she had a point but it was still embarrassing. By the time Yume came back with the tray of drinks, Kuroo and Akira excused themselves to the bathroom to wash their hands.

"Wait. _Both_ of you?" Yume blinked, astonished.

"Yes." The mischievous duo replied almost immediately and closed the door behind them.

Yume sweatdropped, unsure of how to assess the situation. _"They weren't going to do anything weird, were they? Akira, maybe. But for Kuroo, who knows."_ She sighed and looked down at her hands.

Five minutes passed... Eight minutes... Then thirteen minutes...

"They're not coming back from the bathroom any time soon, are they?" She finally spoke after a long awkward silence. Kenma nodded, a faint blush on his cheeks. "Those jerks..." The irritation in her tone made him frown. Did she not like being alone with him anymore? His heart began to ache at the thought. He didn't want to lose her. Especially not this way, not because of his stupid jealousy.

Recalling his earlier conversation with Akira and Kuroo, he unzipped his backpack and pulled out a small bouquet of sunflowers. "Hm?" Yume perked up after catching a glimpse of the yellow colored flowers. Kenma held them out to her, looking away to the side.

"You got me flowers?" She gasped and took the bouquet.

Kenma watched her hug the bouquet to her chest. She looked happy.

".......Kuro.......He said that guys should give girls flowers to make them feel better......" He explained, his eyes never leaving her. "I'm...sorry..."

When the words left his lips, Yume seemed surprised. "You're sorry??" She repeated. The confusion on her face was something he quickly noted, and Kenma gradually started to panic again.

"D...Did I say something weird?" He paled, eyes wide.

"Erm... Yeah, sort of? I mean why would you be sorry? I don't get it. Did you do something wrong?" She began asking questions one after the other.

The two of them just sat there staring at each other and looking stunned. Kenma could feel his palms sweating. This wasn't part of the simulation that he and Kuroo practiced yesterday.

"I... Weren't you mad at me for ignoring you?" Kenma itched his cheek, no longer sure what to say to her. Was he wrong this whole time?

"I-I thought _you_ were mad at _me_! That's why I've been ignoring your calls! I thought you were gonna--" She cut off the sentence and immediately became sad.

"Yume...?" Kenma reached out and waved his hand in front of her face.

When she looked at him, there were unshed tears in her eyes, and Kenma's heart broke right then and there.

"I... I thought y-you were going t-t-to break up with me a-and *sniff* I j-just wasn't ready for i-it yet..." Yume blurted out her feelings and started to cry.

"Yume?" Kenma whispered her name as he reached out. What should he do? He had never been put in this kind of situation before.

What would Kuroo do??

Resorting to doing what Kuroo might have suggested he do in this particular situation, Kenma leaned across the round table, grabbed the sobbing girl by both her shoulders, squeezed his eyes shut tight............................and kissed her.


	11. The day after

"Kenma, you're overthinking things."

Kuroo snickered as he watched the hopeless pudding head grumble in embarrassment. His face was bright red and covered behind both hands. He stayed this way since their visit to Yume's house the other day.

"Seriously. Kenma. It wasn't a bad move." Kuroo tried to reassure him. "Though I am a bit surprised. Didn't know you had it in you."

The wide smirk on his lips was enough for Kenma to blush brighter, if that was even possible. He glanced at Kuroo from the corner of his eye with a frown. "There's no way I can face her today." He said. Kuroo grinned and sighed in amusement.

"Come on. You guys already made up... Sort of." He shrugged. "Wasn't the whole problem in the first place because you were avoiding her?"

"But I kissed her yesterday..." Kenma grumbled, rubbing his face with both hands, wishing that his blush would disappear.

"You'll be fine~"

_[Flashback]_

_Yume sat frozen in place, eyes wide, as she stared at her boyfriend's adorable face. His lips were soft and the kiss was clumsy, but gentle and full of love. When Kenma pulled away from her, his eyes darted to the ground._

_"K-Kenma..." She softly gasped and reached up to touch her lips, still unable to fully register everything that happened in that moment._

_"I..." He began to explain, but somehow along the way he lost his voice, resulting him into a stuttering mess._

_"Kenma...?"_

_"I... Sorry."_

_Just like that, he was out of the bedroom and running through the halls, not even caring that Kuroo and Akira had been watching the entire time through a small crack from the door._

_"KENMA! HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Kuroo shouted from behind him._

_The embarrassed little pudding head didn't stop running. He dashed through the house and out the gates to freedom, leaving behind a shocked and confused Yume in her room._

_[End of Flashback]_

Kuroo stood outside class 2-3 next to his best friend for two reasons: 1) There was a chance that the gamer might try to run again, and 2) He really wanted to see what happens. One glance at the boy next to him and he could tell that he was silently debating whether or not to go in or skip school. Kenma was still nervous about meeting Yume that he couldn't even will himself to open the door to the classroom. Kuroo chuckled quietly, patiently waiting for either the door to open or for Kenma to open it himself.

"....I can't do it." He spoke after about ten minutes of standing outside.

"Here. You just reach out and slide the door like this--" Kuroo demonstrated by grabbing Kenma's shaking hand and using it to slide the door to the room open.

"Kuro!" Kenma tensed as the door opened.

Yume sat in her seat with her head resting on the desk. Her eyes were closed almost like she was sleeping. When she heard the clattering of the door opening, she sat up instantly and shook her head to alleviate the drowsiness.

"Good luck." Kuroo gently pushed him inside the room with a mischievous grin.

"I hate you." Kenma grumbled and shot him a light glare, before slowly walking over to his seat next to Yume.

_"What should I do? Am I suppose to say hi? Should I wait for her to say something first?"_

Various scenarios played in his head as he tried to decide what to do. Before he even realized it, he was standing in front of Yume's desk, and the girl was staring at him.

"Kenma?" She called him out and he gasped, snapping out of his train of thought to look at her. "Can we...talk? About the kiss?"

She was straightforward as ever; the very opposite of himself. With a slight nod of his head, he sat in his seat and took a deep breath to calm himself down. Yume smiled as she watched him, her affection for the shy boy fluttering in her chest like a million butterflies.

"So... Yesterday I was kind of...erm..." Talking about it seemed harder than she thought it would be. Nevertheless, she forced out the words she wanted to say to him. "I-I wanted to apologize for kind of...uhm...bursting into tears like that in front of you...and...and for ignoring your calls the entire weekend...a-and for pretty much everything that troubled you..."

Kenma listened as she spoke, a bit confused as to why she was still apologizing for anything. It was his fault for her behavior in the first place, wasn't it?

"Don't apologize..." He mumbled and fidgeted anxiously in his seat. "I'm sorry for kissing you so suddenly... It was the only thing I could think of..............to make you stop crying..."

"Ah, I see." She nodded and the two fell into an awkward silence.

Kuroo stood at the doorway, watching the couple with uncertainty. _"Did they resolve anything? I can't really tell..."_ He wondered. Neither of them moved to do anything or speak to break the tension. _"This is...sort of painful to watch. Kenma, hang in there."_

Yume opened her mouth as if to say something but quickly shut it again and shook her head. Kenma noticed and raised an eyebrow at her. "What's on your mind, Yume..?" He finally asked her.

"Ah, well... I-I was wondering... If maybe we... W-Well I just thought..." She sighed and looked away. It was too embarrassing for her to even mention and there was no way Kenma would ever agree to do it. Again. "Nevermind. Forget about it."

Yume began to face away from him, only to stop short when a hand gripped her wrist. She looked up and saw Kenma staring at her anxiously.

"T-Tell me......" He said. "Tell me what you're thinking..."

In a way that she could not point out, Kenma seemed to be more...bold? The shy setter of Nekoma normally would have left the matter alone but he actually insisted in knowing what she was about to say.

Yume took a breath and shyly looked at him in the eyes. "I was wondering if we could do it again..." She told him. Then, her eyes trailed down to stare at her shoes. "If it's alright with you... I'd like to kiss you again."

"....."

Maybe she shouldn't have said anything.

"....."

This was a mistake.

"....."

Does he hate her now?

"...Okay."

"Wha??" Her head shot up at his answer. She didn't expect him to agree, but he did. Right!? "Did you just say _okay_?"

"......Yeah......" Kenma mumbled as he slowly let go of her wrist.

If happiness could make someone glow, then Yume was positively shining brighter than the stars. Without even a second thought, she leaned forward and grabbed Kenma by the front of his shirt, and kissed him fully on the lips.

"Mmph!?" Kenma's eyes were wide as saucers. He didn't know she meant to kiss him _now._

Kuroo was loudly cheering from the doorway, followed by a chorus of applause from the entire volleyball team. His classmates were absolutely stunned. The silent and aloof Kenma was being _kissed by a girl_! He was pretty sure that he even received some glares from jealous boys who probably wanted to date his girlfriend too.

"Those two are dating?"

"I never would have guessed. They seem so different."

"Damn that pudding head..."

Kenma heard the murmurings began to get louder. People were starting to notice him now. Yume didn't seem to care as she happily kissed all over his face.

"Y-Yume, people are staring...." He pointed out shyly.

"Oh! Sorry!" She grinned and pulled back, bouncing in her seat. "I'm just so... So HAPPY~"

As much as he hated the unwanted attention he was receiving, Kenma had to admit that seeing her smile so wide was worth it.


	12. Sick Days

Yume sat in the gym and watched the school's volleyball practice. It was her first time to see her boyfriend in his club activities so, naturally, she felt excited. Her eyes would follow him on the court, observing carefully on how he moved, and on what he did. She knew Kenma was a clever boy, no doubt, and it was no surprise that he could fool players in mere seconds.

"You need to block like you mean it, Kenma!" Coach Nekomata scolded when the setter inched away to the side from Yamamoto's spike.

Kenma pouted and looked ahead. "But my arms are going to break." He reasoned. "No they won't!" The coach retorted almost comically. Yume giggled at the cute pudding head; he peeked at her from his peripheral vision and blushed when he saw her looking at him.

Yamamoto began to roar in determination, yelling something about getting fired up because there was a cute girl watching their practice. The whole team sighed at the simpleton and had to remind him that the girl he was talking about was already taken by their quiet setter.

"If you still have that much energy after practice then I can make you run some extra laps." Kuroo sneered, effectively shutting him up.

Yamamoto's earlier comment about her being cute caused Yume to blush a bit and she started to become a bit self-conscious about her appearance in front of the boys. Kenma saw her smoothing down her hair and trying to sit straight; it annoyed him that she was getting concerned about her looks so much. He pulled a scowling face and directed it at their ace.

"Whoa! Kenma looks scary!" Yamamoto yelped.

"Stop trying to impress the guy's girlfriend then," Yaku huffed and crossed his arms.

"But all I said was that she's cute!!" He said in his defense.

"I'd appreciate it if you would stop making her so self-conscious," Kenma told him frankly before walking away.

Kuroo smirked, proud that the once timid Kenma was now openly defending his girlfriend. He gave himself a pat on the back for his job well done in convincing the game addict to try out dating. Now, all that's left is to convince him into marrying Yume in the future. He was planning on becoming best man, after all.

The shrill sound of a whistle blew and Nekomata told everyone to start on practicing their serves. Coach Naoi glanced at the sidelines where Yume sat watching the entire court. Her gaze was solely focused on the blonde setter alone; her smile growing wider each time he did something that amazed her.

"Kenma has been doing really well lately," Naoi smiled. He nodded towards the girl waving to her quiet boyfriend. "Do you think it's because of her?"

"Probably," Nekomata chuckled. "Ah, young love."

After practice would end and everyone stopped by the store to buy something to snack on, Kuroo would accompany the cute couple on their way home together. It was a tad bit awkward at first and Kuroo wanted to leave the two for some alone time. He had even thought about letting them go on their own for once, but that only resulted in Kenma and Yume nearly getting robbed on the way home. Thus, he was stuck with them. Not that any of them minded at all.

One day, on her way to class 2-3, Yume was puzzled to find her boyfriend's seat empty throughout morning period. She waited for lunch to eat with him, Akira, and Kuroo like they usually did but he was nowhere to be found either.

"Ah? Kenma got sick so he's not around today." Kuroo ate his octopus sausage with a blank expression. "Didn't he tell you? I even reminded him to send you a text."

Yume shook her head and checked her phone for any new messages. Nothing.

"Maybe his phone was too far for him to reach and he simply couldn't bother," Akira guessed.

"It's nice to know you hold such a high regard of my boyfriend, Akira." Yume said sarcastically, causing her friend to laugh at her deadpan expression.

Kuroo suggested visiting the bedridden pudding head after school and the two girls eagerly agreed. When the volleyball club was done with their afternoon practice, Kuroo and Yume skipped their daily store snacking routine and reported to the team about their plans to head over to Kenma's. After a few goodbyes and several tell-Kenma-to-get-well-soon, the trio took a train to Kenma's place.

Surprise was an understatement for Kenma when he saw his best friend, his girlfriend, and his girlfriend's best friend walking into his mess of a room. "Kenma, did a nuclear explosion happen in here while we were in school?" Kuroo's face scrunched up when he picked up one of the ball of tissues from the floor.

"What are you all doing here?" Kenma asked, ignoring Kuroo's question.

"Kuroo said you were sick so we wanted to check on you," Yume pouted at him. "But it looks like you don't care enough to let me know, Kenma."

"Ah, I didn't?" He grumbled and tried to sit up. "I must have forgot."

"I even reminded you not to." Kuroo huffed and pushed him back down. "Don't bother getting up. You're just going to strain yourself."

Not wanting to object the sensible suggestion, Kenma shut his eyes and curled up in his bed, wrapping the blankets around him tighter. Even without any breeze or air conditioning, he was shivering like someone had dumped a bucket of ice on him.

"Poor Kenma..." Yume frowned and took a seat on his bed, carefully brushing aside strands of hair away from his face.

"Auntie told us that she made soup for you in the kitchen. Want me to get it?" Kuroo asked as he started for the door.

"Yeah," Kenma weakly nodded.

The door closed as Kuroo walked out and the two girls were left alone in the room. Akira noticed how badly Kenma was shivering and a sly smirk formed on her lips. Even if the poor boy was freezing from illness, she still was a little devil and tried to bring the two lovebirds closer.

"Hey, Yume, why not warm Kenma up?" Akira grinned.

Yume looked at her best friend with a confused frown. "Kuroo already left to get some soup." She reminded her.

"No," Akira rolled her eyes. "I meant warm him up in another way. Like, you know, getting into bed and hugging him or something."

Kenma's eyes shot open when he heard her. He couldn't tell if the increased heat on his face was from the sickness or from embarrassment.

Probably embarrassment.

"Hmm... Well that would make him stop shivering, I guess. Maybe." Yume shrugged. She looked at her boyfriend thoughtfully. "What do you think, Kenma..?"

Kenma sent a light glare at Akira's direction, to which the little vixen merely laughed as she noticed how red he'd gotten. "I don't mind..." He finally answered and scooted a bit to make room for her. She was warm and soft, sort of like a teddy bear. Akira hid the amused grin on her face behind a hand as Kenma unknowingly started cuddling her.

"Kenma, I hope you're in the mood for some--" Kuroo paused when he opened the door to the bedroom. Akira shushed him, pressing a finger to her lips as she glanced over the couple cuddling under the covers.

Pulling out his phone, Kuroo took a photo of the two, smirking as Yume silently pleaded for them to knock it off. In her arms was a sleeping Kenma and standing at the doorway were two very unhelpful friends. She was so going to kill them later for this.


	13. Soulmates

_[...Zzz...]_

_They say that when you meet the one you're destined to be with for the rest of your life, your entire world would brighten up around you. It is said that the moment your eyes meet with the eyes of that one special person, you would start to see colors._

_People who haven't met their soulmates could only see shades of black, grey, and white. Kozume Kenma, a second year high school student from Nekoma High, was one of these people. He could only see the monochromatic world as it was._

_Funny thing is...he didn't really care._

_In order for one to find their soulmate and see colors, they needed to have eye contact with them. You could already imagine the terror in Kenma's face when he learned about this. The gamer instantly became more uncomfortable around others and started avoiding looking them in the eye._

_Although that didn't mean that he_ _hated the idea of having a soulmate._

_In fact, it would be nice to have someone other than his next door neighbor to talk to sometimes. But Kenma was very shy and he didn't know how to make friends on his own. His inability to express his emotions openly often leads a lot of people to mistake him for being a cold person._

_Gaming was the only thing besides volleyball that he found fun. He didn't like people and he didn't want to be around them either. He felt contented in his isolation where he didn't have to worry about what people thought of him. That was what Kenma had believed back then._

_If it weren't for his friend Kuroo then he never would have met his team in Nekoma, he never would have met Hinata from their school's old rival, and he never would have met_ her.

_It was an odd meeting because the two never have spoken to each other before, despite being the same year. Although he noticed her around the school during their freshmen years, Kenma never paid much attention to her before. She was an honest, bubbly, and somewhat naive person from what he could tell. Other than that, that was all he knew about this stranger._

_It was on his second year of high school that they finally spoke. She initiated it since Kenma wouldn't even dream of trying to talk to a girl by himself. She was cute and short, a type of girl that many guys in his year would confess to._

_He noticed that she was anxious about something and tried to stutter out the words._

_"C-C-Could you m-meet me a-after your pr-practice, K-K-Ko...Kozu-Kozume...-kun..?"_

_Any guy would be surprised for a cute girl like his classmate to ask to meet with them._ _Except for Kozume Kenma. He was almost sure that she wanted to ask him about his best friend Kuroo like most girls would in his year._

_This time he was wrong._

_He met her again after their volleyball practice; she was playing with a cat just outside the school gates. When his teammates asked what she was doing there all alone, she seemed to hesitate about something...until her eyes met his own._

_"Ko-Kozume-kun!!"_

_At that instant, he noticed that her eyes began to change, almost as if they had...color?_

_From nature's greens to the sky's blues to their uniform's blazing reds, he could see it all clearly. Color was beginning to paint itself into his once dull black and white world._ _Kenma was stunned._

_What's more is that he hadn't expected for the very person to give his life color would confess her feelings to him that same day._ _This girl he barely knew started shouting at the top of her lungs about how she felt about him. This stranger that gave him a brighter and more beautiful view of everything he once knew. This girl...was running away!?_

" _Huh?"_

_By the time he managed to snap out of it, she was gone. He didn't even get a chance to ask for her name._

_Kenma sighed and looked down at the red envelope in his hands. That girl gave that to him, right? Hesitantly, he opened it and pulled out a piece of paper._

_A love letter, to be exact._

_He began to read the letter silently, his lips curling into a small smile when he skimmed through the contents. There were words that she crossed out and replaced with less embarrassing ones. The paper was decorated with little doodles and stickers too._

_It was adorable and creative, definitely suiting her character._

**_Dear Kozume Kenma ❤,_ **

**_I know writing love 💌 letters is a bit old school and no one really does this sort of thing anymore... But I had to do something that explains in detail about why I like you a lot!! 💞 I guess it would be better to tell you this face to face, but if you're reading this letter then that probably means that I chickened out. Sorry! 🐤_ **

_Kenma chuckled at the drawing of a chicken walking away._

_**You probably don't know me very well since we never even spoke to each other before but I have always liked you since first year!!! 😣 We weren't exactly classmates though...** _

_**The first time I saw** _ _**you** _ **_was when the volleyball club was doing their laps before our morning classes. Our senpais made you run extra laps and I wanted to say something to encourage you back then... 😗_ **

_Ah, so she saw that?_

**_After that I noticed that I paid close attention to you whenever you're around. I saw that you play video games 🎮 most of the time and you always look like you were enjoying them, so I wanted to try playing too! I thought that maybe we could play video games together and become friends_ ** _**.** _

_**But** _ _**... I found out that I suck at video games. 😅** _

_**How do you do it, Kozume-kun? You make it look so easy! 😤 I'm super jealous of your skills!** _

**_I'm bad at video games and I'm bad at sports, but you're good with both of them. I envy you sometimes..._ **

_Kenma felt his cheeks turning red. He didn't really think any of that was even special about him._

_**I noticed you more and more throughout our freshmen year. I didn't know why but I was always happy when I got to see you.**_ 😆💕

**_I wanted to be closer to you somehow, but I'm not good at anything you are. We probably don't have anything in common either. 😖 Is it weird for me to want to be with you even if we don't share the same interests_ ** **_..?_ **

**_Well... What I'm trying to say is that..._ ** _**I like you** _ _**. I really really like you, Kozume-kun. From your adorable pudding colored hair to your quiet nature, I like every part of you.** _

**_From the moment I started noticing you, I felt like I found a missing piece of me. It felt like this huge wave of a new kind of happiness rushing through me and I couldn't do anything but to let it take over._ **

**_I thought that this whole time that maybe I was waiting for you all along._ **

**_So...if you would be willing to...please be my boyfriend!!!_ **

_**Kamiya Yume** _

[. . . !]

"Hey, Kenma?"

"Hm?"

"Can I ask something of you?"

Her gentle voice pulled him away from his daze-like state, his game paused in his hands. "What is it?" He asked as she sat up on the bed and unconsciously started playing with her hair.

It was a quiet Friday night and Yume was sleeping over at his house. Along with some extra clothes and her very own 3DS, she also brought the school work that the pudding head had missed while he was sick for the past two days.

If being holed up in his room doing homework wasn't bad enough to begin with, his parents were delighted to officially meet the girl that their introverted son was dating, and bombarded Yume with questions about their love life. Plus, there was that photo and three minute video of the two cuddling that Kuroo and Akira had for future blackmailing purposes.

Kenma was clearly self-conscious and slightly annoyed that his folks would pry into his personal life through the means of his girlfriend, but Yume managed to answer their eager questions without saying anything that would cause him to feel embarrassed.

"Well, it's getting late now and I'm pretty sleepy," She began, twirling a lock of light brown hair around her finger. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind me giving you a goodnight kiss..?"

Although Yume knew perfectly well how much her boyfriend was too bashful to talk about his love life in front of his parents, he didn't seem to dislike feeling that way whenever she said something cute. The blush on his face must be reaching to the tip of his ears by now...

"Sure," He nodded shyly. It was hard to get used to kissing her without turning bright red.

Smiling at the sound of his affirmation, she gently cupped his cheeks and leaned forward, planting a soft and sweet kiss against his lips. "Then goodnight, Kenma." She whispered and nuzzled their noses together. "Don't stay up too late, okay? You promised you would take me to the arcade for our date tomorrow~"

"Yeah," He flashed her a miniscule smile.

"Can you win me a toy from one of those crane games?"

"Mm-hmm."

Yume nodded with a big grin and laid back down. After mumbling another good night, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

"....."

"....."

"...Yume?"

"Mm?"

"...Do you believe in soulmates?"

One eye opened to peek at him while her brain was trying to fight off drowsiness. "I think the idea of a soulmate is nice, but I don't necessarily believe in those things." She answered truthfully and was a bit interested to know why Kenma would have asked her such a question.

Yume let out a giggle as he looked at her and away, a signal that he wanted to say something more, but didn't want to disturb her trying to sleep.

"Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?"

Kenma slowly shook his head, a small frown on his lips. "It's nothing, I was just wondering. What if you belong to someone else?" He muttered glumly.

"If that _someone else_ is a reincarnation of _you_ then I wouldn't mind dating him in my next life." She laughed.

Kenma hummed thoughtfully at her response and laced their fingers together when she slid her hand on top of his. The warmth of his hand curled around her cold one and Yume couldn't help but smile blissfully.

"...Kenma?" She said, calling his attention.

"Hm?" He responded.

"Do you like volleyball?" She asked quietly.

Kenma paused to think, "Mm? I guess it's kinda fun."

"Do you like Kuroo?" She raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Kenma shrugged, "Meh. He annoys me sometimes."

"Pfftb! He's just trying to look out for you," She laughed.

"I guess."

"...Do you like _me_?"

Kenma blinked at the question and looked directly into her eyes. The carefree expression she wore earlier was now replaced with a frown. Yume held her breath, worry clouded her features as she waited for him to reply. Although Kenma didn't even need to think of his answer for this particular question.

"Yeah." He shyly nodded and gently squeezed her hand to assure her. "I do."

A cheerful grin made its way to his girlfriend's lips and she couldn't help but pull the adorable blonde down on top of her. There was a chorus of muffled giggling as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug and nuzzled his chest.

Normally Kenma would have been completely flustered that he was in such a position, but he was already used to the affection Yume loved showering him with. Whether it were hand holding, hugging, or even kissing, he would gladly accept them all as long as it was from her.

If someone had told the game addict years ago that he would find his soulmate in an honest, bubbly, and naive girl like Kamiya Yume then he probably would have snorted and rolled his eyes at the ridiculous assumption. "If we happen to get reincarnated," Yume smiled at him. "Then I'd still date you in my next life, Kenma."

The pudding head looked down at her and blushed, his heart drumming in his chest as a small smile tugged the corners of his lips. His arms gently enveloped the small girl to reciprocate her embrace as he whispered into her ear, glancing at the love letter and red envelope sitting on his bedroom table.

"I wouldn't mind trying again. As long as it's you."

**THE END**

**Author's Note:**

> This was written back in 2017 so the writing style is going to change for the other stories lol


End file.
